Category Archives: Women

Indiana: CAIR calls for attack on Muslim woman to be investigated as hate crime

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bouchra BahdaA leading US Muslim advocacy group has called for investigating a possible hate-crime attack against a veiled Muslim woman who has been struck in an Indiana store a few weeks ago.

“Without an alternative theory for the motive of the attacker, anti-Muslim bias based on the victim’s ethnicity and religious attire must be investigated by law enforcement authorities,” Ibrahim Hooper, National Communications Director for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a statement obtained by OnIslam.net on Saturday, August 23.

Bouchra Bahda, the Muslim mother of two, was attacked form from behind last Ramadan when a young man struck her with a hard downswipe on the shoulder outside a Wal-Mart store in Indiana.

The Muslim woman and her husband, both native Moroccans, were accompanying kids to shopping in the Wal-Mart in Avon where the assault happened.

“What was he thinking?” Abdelhakim Ejjair, the husband who moved to the US in 1998 told Indystar. “Does he hate Muslims? I just want know what was in his head. What was the reason?”

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Islamophobic attack on 84-year-old woman in Vienna

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An 84-year-old woman originally from Turkey wearing a traditional headscarf was kicked to the ground on Thursday afternoon in an attack that was clearly motivated by anti-Islamic sentiments, according to a press release from Austria’s Islamic Religious Community Association (IGGiÖ).

Police confirmed that they received a report of the attack in the Favoriten area of Vienna, and are currently investigating. The perpetrator was a 30 to 35-year-old man who spoke and insulted the woman using a strong Viennese dialect.

Another nearby woman was also knocked down by the man, according to reports. Nearby teenagers who came to the assistance of the old woman were unable to prevent the man from escaping after committing the assault.

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Muslim women defy threats, violence to wear hijab

Posted on by Bob Pitt

When youth worker Sumreen Farooq was abused in a London street, the 18-year-old decided it was time to take a stand – and she started to wear a headscarf.

Farooq is one of many young Muslim women living in Britain who have, for various reasons, chosen to adopt the headscarf to declare their faith to all around them, despite figures showing rising violence against visibly identifiable Muslims.

For despite a common view that young Muslim women are forced to wear veils by men or their families, studies and interviews point to the opposite in Muslim minority countries where it is often the case that the women themselves choose to cover up.

“I’m going to stand out whatever I do, so I might as well wear the headscarf,” said Farooq, a shop assistant who also volunteers at an Islamic youth centre in Leyton, east London.

Reuters reports.

Row over French MEP’s Muslim veil comments

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Nadine Morano tweet

A French MEP and former minister has created a storm in France by posting a picture of a veiled woman sitting on a beach and criticising it as an “attack on our culture”.

Nadine Morano, a close ally of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, took a picture of the woman wearing a headscarf and posted it on her Twitter feed and Facebook page next to a famous photo of sex symbol Brigitte Bardot wearing a bikini.

“When one sees this scene, one cannot but help feel an attack on our culture that goes against our sexual equality,” wrote Morano, from the centre-right UMP party.

“If you choose to come to France, a state of law, a secular state, one should respect our culture and women’s rights. If not, go elsewhere!” said Morano, who is well-known for gaffes and outspoken comments.

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‘Drunk’ Belgium diplomat specialising in protocol is arrested for tearing full-face veil off a Qatari princess

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Jean-Marie PireA senior Belgium diplomat specialising in protocol has been arrested for tearing off the full-face veil of a Qatari princess after she asked him for directions.

In the latest example of the difficulties involved in imposing a so-called “burka ban”, Jean-Marie Pire did not know the identity of the massively wealthy VIP before attacking her.

She approached him with two other women in broad daylight in central Brussels last week, asking for directions to the famous Grand Place. The kind of full face veils favoured by some Muslim women are banned in Belgium, just as they are in neighbouring countries including France.

“I said I don’t talk to anyone if I can’t see their face,” said Mr Pire. “With this reply, I wanted to make it clear that the veil is banned in Belgium. Because the person asking me a question didn’t seem to hear me, I lifted her veil. I know I shouldn’t have done that, but what she did wasn’t legal either!”

The woman, who has not been named, said she suffered cuts and bruises after her earrings were violently dislodged, along with her veil.

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The French ‘burqa’ ban: ECHR judgment poses general threat to minority rights

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hilal Elver, author of The Headscarf Controversy: Secularism and Freedom of Religion, examines last month’s ruling by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights affirming France’s ban on the wearing of the full-face veil in public. She writes:

By now, it is clear that Article 9 of the European Convention does not protect freedom of religion when the subject is a woman and the religion is Islam…. The ECHR acted politically and opportunistically not to challenge France’s strong Republicanism and principles of laicité, sacrificing the rights of the small minority of Muslims who wear the full-face veil. Rather than protecting the individual freedom of the 2000 women, the ECHR protected the majority view of France.

The ECHR is the most powerful supra national human rights court and its decisions have widespread impact. Several countries in Europe, such as Denmark, Norway, Spain, Austria, and even the UK, have already started to discuss whether to create similar laws banning the burqa in public places. This raises concerns that cases related to the cultural behavior and religious practices of minorities could shift public opinion dangerously away from the principles of multiculturalism, democracy, human rights and religious tolerance.

The most recent law bans the full-face veil, but tomorrow, the prohibitions may be against halal food, circumcision, the location of a mosque or the visibility of a minaret; even religious education might be banned for reasons of public health, security or cultural integration.

OUP Blog, 17 August 2014

Michigan man charged for attempting to pull off Muslim mom’s veil and cloak

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Jonathan Patrick DeuelA Michigan man is facing jail time for an alleged assault against a Muslim mom. Jonathan Patrick Deuel, 29, was charged with ethnic intimidation and misdemeanor assault and battery on Thursday for what Muslim activists are calling a “hate crime.”

The July 19 attack came as the woman and her family were enjoying a day at a Meridian Township mall. 26-year-old woman was walking to her car with her 5-year-old daughter when a group of three – two men and one woman – surrounded her. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the attackers attempted to pull off the woman’s niqab and abaya – the traditional veil and cloak that some Muslim women wear in public.

The woman was allegedly knocked to the ground while her attackers shouted slurs and cursed at her. The assailants fled after the woman’s husband heard her cries and rushed to the scene. The mom was hospitalized for 36 hours, complaining of chest pain and a numbness in her left arm.

Meridian Township Police announced that Deuel will be the only suspect charged for the attack. The ethnic intimidation charge is a felony which could cost Deuel up to two years in prisonl and a $5,000 fine, MLive reports. The misdemeanor charge could carry an imprisonment of up to 93 days and fines of up to $500.

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Israel now, Ireland next: Dublin embassy in propaganda pics storm

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Israeli embassy Twitter images

An Israeli spokesman has confirmed that offensive images featuring European national icons were sent from his embassy’s official social media accounts.

Dublin was not the only city to come into the Israeli propaganda sights. A montage of pictures also showed the Mona Lisa in Paris wearing a niqab and carrying a rocket launcher. Michaelangelo’s David was shown in Arab headgear and wired up as a suicide bomber with a warning to Italy, while Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid was shown holding a gun.

The Israel In Ireland Facebook and Twitter accounts have been blasted for sharing the series of controversial posts.

An embassy spokesman told the Irish Sun: “Yes they were sent from the official Facebook but they were taken down, I don’t know why. Often things get deleted for space reasons but it wasn’t taken down because of any complaints.”

But disgusted online viewers called on the Government to take decisive action.

One said: “Feckin’ Facebook has taken more action against Israel in Ireland than our own Govt! Useless, spineless cowards. Further disgusting imagery from the Israeli Embassy in Ireland @IsraelinIreland.” Another fumed: “A disgusting piece of propaganda incitement attempt by @IsraelinIreland – embassy in Dublin. Simply disgusting. #GazaUnderAttack.”

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FIBA to review ‘discriminatory’ ban on headgear

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bilqis Abdul-QaadirFacing claims that Muslim and Sikh players are being discriminated against, basketball’s governing body will review its ban which prevents players wearing headgear for religious reasons.

FIBA said Friday that its policy-making board will review the issue at an Aug. 27 meeting in Sevilla, Spain, ahead of the World Cup.

“FIBA’s Central Board, which is ultimately responsible for changes to the Official Basketball Rules, will review these requests and decide how to proceed in the best interest of the sport,” the 214-nation governing body said in a statement.

The United States Olympic Committee and India’s government had this week called for an end to the ban.

“We take seriously American athletes’ right to compete and believe that reasonable steps can be taken to accommodate athletes of all religious beliefs,” said the USOC, which was urged to intervene by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

India’s sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal responded after two Sikhs on the national team had to remove their turbans before FIBA-sanctioned Asia Cup matches in China this month. The minister said he was “shocked and outraged,” and asked the IOC to send guidelines to Olympic sports federations.

Current FIBA rules prevent players wearing “headgear, hair accessories and jewelry,” allowing only a 5-centimeter headband to control hair and sweat.

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Bristol Muslim woman’s shock at being spat at and verbally abused

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hasina KhanA Muslim woman was left shocked and in tears when she was verbally abused and spat at by a stranger ranting about the Middle East.

Hasina Khan, who was born in Bristol, was on her way to work when she was attacked by a man in Cabot Circus at about 9am on Monday. Saliva ended up on her hijab and her left hand.

The 36-year-old, who lives in Horfield, said: “I’ve experienced hostility and racism many times, from being called Paki in the street to having alcohol thrown at me.

“I remember during the 1990 Iraq invasion being pushed by a boy at school followed by ‘haha we are bombing you’, to more recent years when the world turned to topple Libya and I experienced yet again a rise in racism. In fact, every time there is aggression towards Muslims outside of the UK, I experience aggression from within the UK.

“However, nothing could prepare me for what happened on Monday. Because of Israel’s bombardment of the mainly-Muslim population of Gaza, was I again being targeted?

“I had just past Pret A Manger and a man came charging towards me with such aggression I thought he was going to punch me in the face. He was ranting and he spat in my face. I felt it fall onto my left hand.

“I was in shock at what was happening. I asked him what his problem was, but he continued to rant and said something along the lines of ‘your people are killing’ and something about ‘Middle East’ and ‘killing Christians’. He spat at me again. It was terrifying. I thought he was going to attack me at any second.

“Then my defence mechanism just kicked in and I started to shout at him. What a coward – he then started to back away. He tried to say something else, but I continued to shout at him until he left Cabot Circus. I’ve read so many reports that hate crime towards Muslim women is increasing in the UK, but nothing really prepares you for what to do if it happens and how humiliating, terrifying and dirty it makes you feel.

“I hope he is caught so he cannot terrorise and traumatise other women.”

The attacker was white, with short-brown hair and a short beard, a dark-green T-shirt with a white pattern or writing on the front, and he had two silver necklaces with silver coin-shaped pendants.

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